Thomie
By David Wang
Photo Credit: Chris Cortez
A born and raised South Texan, singer-songwriter Thomie is infusing pop music with the familiar South Texan sound of Tejano—what he describes as “a super communal genre [of music].” Thomie also draws inspiration from a broad range of pop artists, ranging from the likes of The Beatles, Willie Nelson, and Bruce Springsteen.. “Reason Don’t Define,” Thomie’s hottest single on Spotify with nearly 700K streams, has a rich Tejano-folk sound accompanied by pop interludes and light drumming. His upcoming album, “Stroll Along,” will be out October 2 — so as always, stay tuned. We recently spoke to the artist about his cultural roots, musical influence, and songwriting process!
How did you start making music?
I grew up in South Texas, the culture down here revolves around Tejano, a super communal genre. My family would all go to this flea market pretty often and on Sunday’s there was a band playing and I was always so intrigued. My dad took notice. So when I was about 4 years old, on a regular trip to the flea market my dad randomly bought me an accordion. I gave that up after I saw Purple Rain on TV like 2 weeks later, then I started to bring all the pots and pans out of the kitchen and pretend they were drums which really pissed my mom off. I didn’t get my first drum set till I was about 8. My dad had my interest right, just the wrong instrument.
Who are your greatest influences?
Joni Mitchell, Nile Rodgers, Prince, Curtis Mayfield, Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Toro y Moi, The Beatles, Queen, Bill Evans, Beach House...
What was the last song you listened to?
“Sweet Dreams” by Roy Buchanan.
Who would you choose for a dream collab?
Damn... The Weeknd
What do you like to do when you aren’t making music?
Read a lot, spend hours scouring the internet for guitars I can’t afford yet, pretending my way through a woodworking project, and stressing about not making music.
Take us through your process in making “Reasons Don’t Define”.
My band and I were playing some hole in the wall place. Early in the day at sound check a random rhythm popped into my head. As everyone was fiddling with their instruments I shouted “Shut up! I gotta record this before I forget it!”. I brought out my phone, opened up Voice Memos and played the drum part you hear in the intro. When I got home I just looped that drum part, slowed it down and started building the track from there. Crazy that song has been as well received as its been, it doesn’t even have a chorus and I don’t start singing till like 2 minutes in. It breaks all the rules.
Any plans for the future?
Releasing a new record called “Stroll Along” in October on Terrible Records, producing and writing tracks with other great artists, going on lots of hikes with my lil family.
